Finland Zoo To Return Pandas To China After Spending Rs 88 Crore On Them

A zoo in Finland has been finding it hard to afford the upkeep of two giant pandas, which they brought from China in January 2018. The animals will be sent back to their homeland in November. A private company which operates the Ahtari Zoo had invested over 8 million euros (Rs 74 crore approximately) to develop a facility where the pandas would be kept, as per a Reuters report. The zoo authority has spent nearly 1.5 million euros (Rs 14 crore approx) on the upkeep of the animals. They also have to pay a preservation fee to China every year, according to Ahtari Zoo Chair Risto Sivonen.

The zoo brought the pandas named Lumi and Pyry after Finland signed a joint agreement with China for animal protection. At that time, Chinese President Xi Jinping had visited Finland to discuss the pact.

As per the agreement, the pandas were slated to stay at the Ahtari Zoo for 15 years. The animals will now kept in a month-long quarantine before being shipped back to their homeland, a spokesperson of the Ahtari Zoo told the news agency.

When bringing the pandas, the zoo authority hoped that the animals would help in attracting more visitors and foreign tourists. It all started well but the situation changed after the COVID-19 pandemic curbed international travel. The Ahtari Zoo is a popular tourist spot located in central Finland.

As revealed by Risto Sivonen, the zoo decided to return the giant pandas to China after accumulating hefty debts last year. They even contacted Finland’s government, seeking monetary assistance but their plea for state funding was rejected.

In a bid to send the pandas back home, the zoo had negotiated with China for three years. “Now we reached a point where the Chinese said it could be done,” Sivonen told the news agency.

The decision to return the pandas has been made solely by the Ahtari Zoo. As the Finnish government was not involved in the development, the zoo feels it won’t make any impact on the relationship between the two countries. Pandas have been sent to many foreign zoos by the People’s Republic of China since 1949. The country considers it as a strategy to improve foreign relations.